WHERE WE WORK, LIVE AND GROW OUR BUSINESS

We’re proud to call our small communities home, because we know we’re growing jobs and adding to the local economies. We’re not Silicon Valley (and don’t want to be!), but have put our roots firmly down in tech-savvy hotbeds where we can attract high tech talent that embraces our Midwest values.

IN BUSINESS. IN SPRINGFIELD!

Nationally-ranked community for business development, Greater Springfield has consistently ranked among the Top 5 in the country when it comes to growing jobs and building the local economy.

The Community Improvement Corporation provides site selection services for companies and consultants, and maintains the real estate database for industrial, distribution, office, and retail property to lease or own in Springfield and all of Clark County.

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF INVENTION

Our Springfield offices are at 14 E. Main Street, an All-American address if ever there was one. Built in 1893,the Bushnell Building is where the Ohio-based Wright Brothers obtained their first of many patents.

Springfield is also home to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Westcott House, but the Bushnell Building is also famous. It has a near twin — Boston’s first skyscraper — The Ames Building. The Art Institute in Chicago and the Chicago Public Library were also designed by the same architectural firm and among the first in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, created by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, successors to H. H. Richardson.

In 2010, the Building had $10 million in renovations, including the company’s offices, which is approximately 75,000-square-feet of the building’s 176,000-square-feet into office space.

LEVERAGING LOCAL ASSETS

Creative Arts Conference Center

All large company conferences are held at nearby Creative Arts Conference Center within walking distance to our East Main St. office and the Marriott. In 2014, more than 1,000 contractors used this building for ongoing training and educational activities.

Images provided by Springfield Chamber of Commerce.

Clark County Community College

Clark has one of the most forward-thinking, community based Board in the country and we have worked with it to develop a one-of-a-kind program that has trained more than 700 locals. The program is tuition free, which means that we provide funding and expertise to insure that those looking for new opportunities can plug in to existing resources and investments from our company.

SPRINGFIELD ORGANIZES ITS NEW HIGH-TECH PURSUITS INTO FOUR AREAS OF FOCUS CALLED “CLUSTERS”:

Advanced Manufacturing and R & D

Springfield's DNA is manufacturing there are over 350 manufacturers in the Springfield area with a large network of skilled and knowledgeable workers.

Automotive

Ohio ranks second in the nation in light vehicle production (1.9 million vehicles annually).

Information Technology

Springfield sits at the base of a 60-mile technology triangle from Cincinnati to Dayton and Columbus on Ohio's Third Frontier technology corridor.

Plastics Composites

Ohio ranks in top two of the U.S. when it comes to plastic machinery and industry employment, as well as in overall shipments of plastics. The Springfield region has many resources to assist plastic related companies.

Image provided by Springfield Chamber of Commerce.

BIG BUSINESS: IN BUSINESS. IN SPRINGFIELD!

Springfield is in the shadow of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the largest base in the United States Air Force. It employs nearly 27,000 people and is a census-designated place that includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. It is one of the largest, most diverse, and organizationally complex bases in the Air Force with a long history of flight test spanning from the Wright Brothers into today’s modern space age.

It is the headquarters of the Air Force Materiel Command, one of the major commands of the Air Force. "Wright-Patt" (as the base is colloquially called) is also the location of a major USAF Medical Center (hospital), the Air Force Institute of Technology, and the National Museum of the United States Air Force, formerly known as the U.S. Air Force Museum.

It is also the home base of the 445th Airlift Wing of the Air Force Reserve Command, an Air Mobility Command-gained unit which flies the C-17 Globemaster heavy airlifter. Wright-Patterson is also the headquarters of the Aeronautical Systems Center and the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Wright-Patterson is the host of the annual United States Air Force Marathon which occurs the weekend closest to the Air Force's anniversary.

SMALL BUSINESS: IN BUSINESS. IN SPRINGFIELD!

Part of Ohio Small Business Development Centers (SBCD) is the premier technical assistance program for Ohio’s small businesses. The network is provided through a partnership between the Ohio Development Services Agency, the U.S. Small Business Administration and selected Ohio chambers of commerce, colleges and universities, and economic development agencies. Today, these federal, state, and local partnerships contribute more than $10 million in cash and resources to the support of small business development in Ohio.

Here are a few of the favorites, which have “taken flight.”

Honor Flight

Earl Morse, founder of the national Honor Flight organization, received extensive services from SBDC to create and grow his non-profit organization. He began in 2005 with a goal of getting World War II veterans to Washington, D.C. to see their memorial - at no cost to them. At that time, Morse, a private pilot was using his plane and other private pilots with two- to six-person planes to fly veterans. Soon the number of veterans far exceeded his resources.

With assistance from SBDC, Morse expanded his vision from the Springfield area into a national organization flying veterans. SBDC showed him how to turn his passion from a part-time effort into a full-time non-profit organization. It assisted him with writing a business plan, better understanding his short-term and long-term financial needs, obtaining non-profit status and developing his board. SBDC helped Morse to create a web site for information and donations and to marketing his product more effectively. Morse was able to improve his fundraising efforts, better identify important prospective funders and connect with veteran organizations across the country.

"SBDC has been just phenomenal. It's incredible what they have done for us," said Morse.

By 2011, Honor Flight had expanded to 111 hubs in 34 states and were chartering flights with national airlines. Morse has appeared on every major television program and received the Presidential Citizen's Medal from President Bush in 2008. Since their inception, 98,772 veterans and 53,684 guardians from across the country have visited the memorial. Honor Flight is continuing to develop new programs and expanding to more cities.

True Inspection Services

When the engineering company that employed Barry Couts began to cut work hours and benefits, he decided to start his own company. One of his first goals was to become certified with the State of Ohio. SBDC consultant, Mike Crockett, was there to help him gain certification as a Disadvantaged Business enterprise (DBE) and an Encouraging Diversity Growth and Equity (EDGE) firm.

Crockett personally took Couts through the SBDC facility. He saw individuals in business for themselves who had a helping hand from SBDC and decided to locate his office there.

"There are a whole lot of things you just don't think of and when someone points out some things that you just don't think of, that's a great help," said Couts. "SBDC helped me with equipment, training, tax information things that I didn't do as a project manager."

When Couts needed funding, another SBDC counselor reviewed his projects and "went to bat" to help him obtain a line of credit to sustain his fledgling business. The counselor assisted Couts with preparing a loan application and connected him to a local bank. Cout was approved for a $25,000 line of credit that quickly increased to $100,000.

True Inspection Services, LLC provides inspection, administration and management services on commercial, government, aviation and industrial projects. Since opening in January 2008, the company has completed projects for Meijer Retail Stores, the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, the Dayton International Airport and the Cuyahoga District 12 Highway Program. Couts is excited and enthusiastic for the future. He is the prime consultant for a $500,000 contract for the Ohio Department of Transportation. Couts will direct the work of six inspectors, three hired by his company and three from another larger company who was eager to team with him because of his excellent reputation and more than a decade of working with him. Learn more about True Inspection Services at their website: www.trueinspectionservices.com